The Chicago City Council overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to decriminalize marijuana possession, joining a wave of states and big cities that have opted for fines instead of arrests for small amounts of the drug.

Starting Aug. 4, police can issue tickets of between $250 and $500 for someone caught with 15 grams or less of pot -- the equivalent of about 25 cigarette-sized joints. Given that more than 18,000 people are arrested for pot possession in Chicago each year, the new law could generate millions of dollars for the city.

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The push for pot tickets marks the latest in an increasingly long line of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's maneuvers to find new sources of money that largely rely on penalizing people who run afoul of the law. The mayor counted on bad behavior to balance his first budget, anticipating that the city would raise $26 million in increased fines for such offenses as failing to cut high weeds, not feeding parking meters and driving with a suspended license.

This fall, cameras are expected to begin clocking motorists who speed on Chicago streets, resulting in tickets of as much as $100 and tens of millions of dollars for the city. Mr. Emanuel framed that controversial plan as a way to leverage technology to better protect children near schools and parks.

Like the speed-camera plan, Mr. Emanuel insisted Wednesday that the marijuana fines aren't about the money. "It's not about revenue; it's about what [police officers] were doing with their time," the mayor said.

"The only revenue I'm interested in, I don't want to be paying for these officers time and a half to sit in a courtroom for four hours on something that 80 to 90 percent of the time will be thrown out, and everybody -- both the residents and police officers and judges -- already knows the outcome."

In making the case for the city's new approach, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said charges are dropped against the "vast majority" of people arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana. And each arrest takes up to four hours of police time, compared with about a half-hour to issue a ticket and test the confiscated weed. When marijuana possession cases are dismissed, the city collects no cash.

Mr. McCarthy estimates that the new ordinance will free up more than 20,000 hours of police time, the equivalent of about $1 million in savings.

Mr. Emanuel's administration refused to say how much it anticipates raising. But based on the more than 18,000 arrests made for small possession in the past year, the city stands to haul in anywhere between $4.5 million to $9 million. The city's take depends on the amount of the ticket officers decide to write, and how many people actually pay what they owe.

Police officers would continue to arrest people caught smoking marijuana or carrying it on park or school grounds. Authorities also would arrest anyone younger than 17 caught with pot or anyone they believed was trying to sell the drug.

Mr. Emanuel changed his original proposal to appease aldermen concerned the city was sending a message that it was soft on pot. Violators could be required to do community service. Those ticketed could be forced to take part in drug awareness or education programs. And the city still could impound offenders' vehicles.

Currently, people convicted of possession face a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,500 fine.